Hop_Scotch

My husband and I went for a 3.5 hour car ride in the beautiful country area we live in. It was a great day, long talks and lots of positive thoughts and feelings. We talked about a ton of stuff and he told me he was still scared about my surgery but he now understand a whole lot more and realized I have to do it or I am going to not be around when we are old and gray in our double rocker watching the world go by. ( YES HE GETS IT).

We stopped at a small cafe for a late lunch. He ordered his normal cheeseburger, fries and soda , I ordered a grilled chicken breast with no oils , added spices and asked for a vegetable melody instead of mashed potato’s and gravy. I was told that I could not have any substitutions. Ok so I asked them to just put the veggies and meat on one plate and the mashed potato’s and gravy on a second plate. OMG you would have thought I was holding a gun to a babies head. I was told sorry but that is a substitution can’t do it. OK let’s try this a different way ( I am now getting a little prickly) I ask can you just put it all on one plate and bring me a to go container? I could but your still substituting veggies , WHAT i added them as a side I said . Now she has turned to my husband and said I think you need to help your wife understand we don’t do substitutions here. Chris is so dumb struck by this comment as am I I just looked at her and said cancel the whole order we’re leaving . I went to the rest room to just wash my hands and throw some cold Water on my over heated head , my hubby was still sitting at the table. I walked up to him and he handed me a paper folded in half . It was a order pad slip with a note when you want to be with a real woman give me a call she had signed it and left her number. My husband had written across it 3 times SORRY NO SUBSTATION’S. My wife is 10x times the woman you will ever be . And he signed it Very Happily Married . It made me cry very happy tears of joy.

I love that man so much.

I knew he was behind me every step of the way but that made me realize he isn’t behind me he is right beside me walking at the same speed as I am, and he will always be there with me.

While I haven't had my procedure yet, I can relate to the obsessing over food.
Is your dietician or surgeon/doctor able to give any insight?
Hopefully those who have had WLS will chime in with their experiences once they reached goal weight and start maintenance.

This is my very first post and I need to THANK each of you for sharing your journey. I have watched and read for months each of your posts. I GAINED so much from your truth and it helped me to decide to GO FOR IT!
I am here in the hospital bed and felt I had to stop just watching and finally post and share my own experience. I was sleeved 5/30/18 by the most talented doctor. I am currently a 35 BMI woman. I have had some health issues due to my weight.I had a stroke when I was pregnant with my last child. When I gain weight I suffer from high blood pressure and back problems, and numbness at night when I am trying to sleep... I am that girl... I go from a six 6 to a XXL/16 - by being a compulsive eater. I over eat when I'm happy, bored, to Celebrate each day of life. I have been known to eat an entire container of vanilla bean ice cream. YIKES....
I won the largest stomach taken out award today in surgery. I was actually given a medal. No wonder I was always hungry.I knew this was the TOOL that I needed. I have been looking into gastric sleeve surgery for 2 years but more seriously this past year. I researched so many doctors and I always came back to Dr. Alvarez. I was way to scared to go to Mexico. I had heard the horror stories. I knew my insurance would not pay for the procedure and I am impatient and wanted it done right away once I made my decision.
I flew to San Antonio Monday with one of my best friends for support. We were picked up by Rosy in a nice Endobariatric van to travel a mile into Mexico on Tuesday around noon. It was actually 2.5 hours from the hotel to the hospital.
We drove to the new hospital prior to going to the hotel for the night.I was literally shocked at the beautiful hospital. It has only been in operation for 3 months. This hospital is by far nicer than most the hospitals back home that I have been to. We met the staff and doctor upon arriving. Everyone was friendly (spoke fluent English) and graciously welcomed us. I was with three other patients. I meet another surgery friend on the van and loved her. We talked the entire van ride and it helped calm the nerves.
I paid a 1,000 deposit when I set the surgery date and gave them the balance today. Everything is covered for $8,900.00. There are no hidden cost. (there is financing I was told for patients who want to make payments)
I loved his super friendly staff. They go out of their way to make you feel safe and pampered. They did the same for my best friend who came to support me. You can bring a person if you like to support you but it is not necessary.
So today at 9:00am I was sleeved. I was super nervous. I prayed a lot. I was just so excited so it helped and I could not stop smiling.
POST OP:
.I woke up and couldn't believe I had actually had the surgery done. They give you a relaxant and it really did help. I remember nothing and drifted off to sleep.
I had done the 5 day pre-op diet starting last Friday to shrink my liver. I didn't enjoy this part but it really did make me feel better after the third day. I weighed in today at 217 lbs. I am the heaviest I have ever been in my life.
I came out of surgery very tired and just wanted to sleep. I was feeling the pain but nothing too crazy. Hey, I've done natural child birth so I know pain. They put their patients into their own private large hospital suite. It's top luxury. I was so impressed with the cleanliness and modern decor. They gave me pain medication immediately, more warm blankets since I was cold and nausea medication. The nurses and doctors check on you all day. Dr. Alvarez came in personally around 8pm to check up on me again.He gave me my award necklace and answered questions.
The pain was exactly what I have read about on this forum. The pain medication covered my pain and I have zero complaints. They want you to walk when you can. I walked the halls later in the day and slept most of the morning and afternoon. I am so happy I did not chicken out. I was given nothing to eat today. I felt ZERO hunger. I have a dry mouth and took anti nausea medication.
I cannot recommend Dr. Alvarez enough. I honestly would recommend him to everyone considering surgery. I wanted to post for the first time and show my honest thoughts on having surgery in Mexico with Dr.A. I only wish I had done it sooner. Tomorrow they are taking us to the local Market to shop and to sightsee. Of course, I will see how I feel, but I feel confident it will be good for me to walk a bit. We also get to go to their ENDOSPA that Dr. A owns if we choose. I am getting the Swedish Massage for an hour. The cost is so affordable at $40.00
I have two meetings tomorrow. I meet with the nutritionist and the weight counselor. I will be in the hospital for another night and return back to San Antonio on Friday via their van. They is all inclusive. You pay one price for everything- $8,900. No hidden costs or trying to sell They like their patients to wait the to fly home so the hotel room is also covered for your last night here. This is like a pampered surgery. I cannot stress enough how personalized it is and how you will be treated. I called my friend tonight who has been thinking about this surgery and he immediately emailed Susan to get the process started.
*truth- he has like a gazillion reviews online and everyone praised him with 5 stars. I was skeptical and thought maybe they were paid supporters. TRUST me... they are not and I am getting NOTHING by posting this. I'm so happy I did it. I never post so this is a big thing for me to do and share so I hope I have helped someone. Thank you Dr. Alvarez and team. This is life changing.
225 HW
217 Day of Surgery

I thought this was going to be about euthanasia!
Anyways, I know what you mean, my hair was so dark brown most people thought it was black, I generally get it coloured chocolate with reds mixed in. But the grey its a dirty colour grey so I will probably cover it with a lighter colour when the coverage goes mostly grey. I like the stark white hair (though I know its not white its just a good tone of grey/silver) some people wear it well.

lol...Nope you're not the only one...

I’ve eliminated all whey and only used Pea and Bone Broth Protein powders today. It appears the problem is solved! Why on Earth couldn’t my Surgeon’s office have suggested this days ago? I can’t possibly be the first patient to experience this!
I thank everyone for their help!!!

My wife and I discussed this before my WLS. To be frank I brought it up. She is a teacher and has seen people have WLS then often plastics and watched them “go crazy” with affairs and then divorce. From her perspective people seemed unused to the newfound physical attention from people and spiraled out of control.

10 years age we had real challenges in our relationship with a close call with infidelity. I was really worried that my losing weight would make her afraid of me falling into the patterns above.

I’m a week out and 30 down from my HW. I’m still a little worried about how this stressor will affect us. But I have OSA and high blood pressure on 3 Meds. My dad had a stroke at 50.

I want to be around to see my children get married. So I’ll very mindful of
My marriage. We have had a few really positive discussions about it and I’ve validated the concerns she didn’t really know to voice yet. But as much as I value my marriage I value my health more. I’ll be very careful to feed my marriage but I won’t continue to risk my heath because of the risk to my marriage.

So that gets to the important point. I had surgery to save my life. That truly was and is the most important thing for me.

Thank u so much for checking in on me! It warmed my heart! I had gastric bypass dec.5th I down 70lbs since then. I also started a new job in the medical world which I love! So I’m so happy. I think I would like to make a photo collage of my progress. I would love to see others as well! Thank u for checking on me.

Hope all goes well for you! The diabetes wasn't tested for before surgery as part of the assessment for surgery?

Hope all goes well for you! The diabetes wasn't tested for before surgery as part of the assessment for surgery?

I’ve always been heavy. Even as a kid I was the chubby kid, the funny class clown, the best friend. After high school I attempted different diets, all of which failed miserably. I was a Theater geek so it always hurt to not get cast into the characters I wanted to play. After various relationships and weight gain and loss I finally found the perfect person who I’m going to marry who is my partner in crime and hands down slightly funnier than I am. Slightly. When we started dating I knew our weight was a problem but it wasn’t until moving to Orlando that I really could tell that it had affected us. I was never a person to actually want to have kids but being with Holly has made me the happiest person in the world and I want nothing more than to start a family with her someday. So, I am excited to announce and pleased to share that we have a surgery date TOGETHER. That’s right we are doing this together and together we are both having the duodenal switch surgery. When I say that this went fast I am not exaggerating.
April 12th - Orientation
May - Various appointments (blood work, EKG, stress test etc)
May 21st - Final Appoinments (psych evaluation and nutrition class) & Insurance Approval
May 22nd - Call from surgeons office to schedule dates.
Holly’s Surgery - July 30th
My Surgery - August 2nd
IM. SO. EXCITED!

This escalated quickly... but I have to agree. Opinion doesn't mean anything. Facts are the ONLY thing that matter here.

Here are some facts... from the lawsuit against Musclegene (the makers of GenePro)

"MuscleGen's claim that its GENEPRO product has 30 grams of Protein in a 1 tablespoon serving size and its use of the term "medical grade" are likely to mislead and cause confusion among consumers in that the stated protein amount is false, and there is no "medical grade" protein standard provided by the Protein Powder industry or the FDA. Further, SI03 faces irreparable harm, as the continuing false advertising of MuscleGen's products that compete with SI03's products poses a risk to SI03's sales and reputation. Conversely, MuscleGen has no protectable interest in continuing to falsely advertise its GenePro products. Finally, the Court finds that the public interest is served by preventing Defendant MuscleGen from misleading consumers to believe that a one tablespoon serving size of GenePro contains 30 grams of protein when the actual amount of protein is 10 grams or less."

https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20171213e89

So anyone's "Opinion" that GenePro is a good protein doesn't sway from the fact that people taking it are assuming 30 grams of protein when they are getting less than 10.... that's a dangerous assumption to make or to impose on anyone. In a WLS situation where getting 1/3 less protein then you are counting can cause some very harmful results. Personally I don't give a rats ass what you take for protein... but don't blindly tell people something is good, without also giving them the facts of the matter.... this protein DOES NOT contain as much protein as is advertised. You can't squeeze more grams of a protein into less total grams of product... It's just not possible. IE you can't fit 10 gallons of Water in a 5 gallon bucket.

So let's take a step back... clearly the difference between telling folks the truth and telling folks an opinion is vastly different and anyone getting upset over the truth... needs to reevaluate things.

Hey guys!
It was a rough month...had gallstones and had to get my gallbladder removed. 2 surgeries and one week stay in the hospital. April sucked!
Anyways! My surgery is coming up on 10 months post op next week. I’m down 70lbs. Highest weight: 228lbs. Today:158lbs. Fluctuating between 158-161lbs. Almost at my goal weight just 15 more lbs. I want to get to goal by my 1 year mark.
Here’s some progress pics over the last month I took....
    

Without knowing your height and current weight, I just want to say that liposuction isn't really a substitute for weight loss. If you are significantly overweight liposuction isn't going to help you.
Are you willing to share your stats?

This is why basing your life around your diet (instead of your diet around your life) is a very bad idea.
It can go too far. It can cause harm. You can trade one eating disorder for another.
Don't let your diet become your life. You're more than food and fitness.
Trying your best, celebrating every victory, and working hard toward a balanced healthy lifestyle are terrific things.
Becoming fixated on diet, making it your whole identity....not so much.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3596455/
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/publications/psychiatry_newsletter/hopkins_brainwise___winter_2015/bariatric_surgery_and_eating_disorders
Turn obsession into compassion.
Turn extremism into balance.
Live and let live.
You'll live longer.

Do your absolute and very best for the preop, it isn't going to get easier for the first few weeks post op from what I've read.
What is it you are struggling with in particular?

FREEZE THIS THE BARIATIC POLICE. NOW STEP AWAY FROM THE scale. (JK)
do consider giving the scale a break and move to a weekly weigh-in vs the daily mental torture you do now.
Not every victory in this journey comes from the scale and even when not losing weight other good things happen. There is a whole thread on NSV - that's non scale victories - give it a read and see how many apply now and what you have to look forward to.

First, stop with the daily stress. If your scale doesn't have body fat or other metrics as well, going off 1 and only 1 metric is going to be madding and not at all the full picture!!

How's the exercising going? How's your Water intake?

The math is simple, if calories burned is higher than calories eaten, you **WILL** lose weight.

You will stall. Your body will need time to pause and re-calibrate itself. Just make sure you are getting your required amounts of Protein and water and that you are burning more than you are consuming. Just stick with it and the scale WILL move again.

I've had a few stalls already in the 2 months since my revision. I made sure to pay attention to my body fat percentage as well. So even if I gained a pound or 2, if my body fat decreased... I knew I was still doing things the right way.

Stick with it and DO NOT GET FRUSTRATED!!! You are not alone!
Good Luck!

I wonder if it's him who is actually wanting 'an easy way out', using the WLS as a means to force a break up?
FutureSleevie read your own post back a couple of times, now what would you ask/tell or advise a close friend or family member after you've watched them struggle with weight gain and maintaining losses for a long time, struggling with obese related health issues, struggling with making what is one of their most important decisions in their life? I am guessing you wouldn't be telling them they are taking the easy way out and that you would be a hell of a lot more caring than that.

I wonder if it's him who is actually wanting 'an easy way out', using the WLS as a means to force a break up?
FutureSleevie read your own post back a couple of times, now what would you ask/tell or advise a close friend or family member after you've watched them struggle with weight gain and maintaining losses for a long time, struggling with obese related health issues, struggling with making what is one of their most important decisions in their life? I am guessing you wouldn't be telling them they are taking the easy way out and that you would be a hell of a lot more caring than that.

I wonder if it's him who is actually wanting 'an easy way out', using the WLS as a means to force a break up?
FutureSleevie read your own post back a couple of times, now what would you ask/tell or advise a close friend or family member after you've watched them struggle with weight gain and maintaining losses for a long time, struggling with obese related health issues, struggling with making what is one of their most important decisions in their life? I am guessing you wouldn't be telling them they are taking the easy way out and that you would be a hell of a lot more caring than that.

You may not be be able to kick him to the kerb yet, but are you able to be assertive as in "you want breakfast? The eggs and bacon are in the fridge, the frying pay is on the stove, I'll leave you to it while I walk and feed the food, then I am off for my shower."

You may not be be able to kick him to the kerb yet, but are you able to be assertive as in "you want breakfast? The eggs and bacon are in the fridge, the frying pay is on the stove, I'll leave you to it while I walk and feed the food, then I am off for my shower."

You may not be be able to kick him to the kerb yet, but are you able to be assertive as in "you want breakfast? The eggs and bacon are in the fridge, the frying pay is on the stove, I'll leave you to it while I walk and feed the food, then I am off for my shower."

You may not be be able to kick him to the kerb yet, but are you able to be assertive as in "you want breakfast? The eggs and bacon are in the fridge, the frying pay is on the stove, I'll leave you to it while I walk and feed the food, then I am off for my shower."